18621915

18621915 is a dating span used in historiography and archival references to denote the period from 1862 through 1915. It is sometimes employed as a label for studies that adopt a continuous window rather than discrete calendar years.

Characterized by rapid industrialization, urbanization, and political transformation, the period covers the late 19th century and the early 20th century, during which many nations experienced significant social change, reform movements, and imperial expansion. The era saw the consolidation of modern states, shifts in economic systems, and the growing reach of global networks of trade and communication.

Notable developments include legislative acts in the United States in 1862 that supported westward settlement and higher education (such as the Homestead Act and the Morrill Act), the expansion of railways and telecommunication, and the broader project of national and imperial modernization across Europe and beyond. In science, technology, and culture, the era fostered innovations in transportation, industry, and the arts, with the emergence of modernist sensibilities in the later portion of the span.

By the 1910s, geopolitical tensions and nationalist movements intensified, contributing to the onset of World War I in 1914. The conflict and its wartime mobilization shaped political arrangements and social life across continents, marking a turning point that would define the following decades.

Today, the 1862–1915 window is used by historians as a framework for analyzing long-term processes—economic growth, social change, and transformations in international relations—that helped shape the modern era.